Nurse Disciplinary Leadership in Higher Education: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education Leadership
• Academic Management

Background:

• Nurse managers in higher education (HE) face increasing global leadership challenges due to funding constraints, policy reforms, and organizational restructuring.
• Nursing faculties are significantly impacted by these systemic changes, affecting leadership roles.
• The study addresses the need to understand the core attributes of nurse disciplinary leads within HE.

Approach:

• A scoping review methodology was employed to map existing literature and concepts related to nurse leadership in HE.
• Five research questions guided the comprehensive search and analysis of relevant academic articles.
• A prospective protocol and content analysis using an extraction table ensured a systematic approach.

Key Points:

• Ten articles were identified, discussing core attributes for leading nursing faculties in HE.
• The literature revealed a lack of clarity and definition in the described attributes, with many articles being opinion-based rather than evidence-based.
• Specific knowledge of the higher education sector is crucial for effective leadership of nursing faculties.

Conclusions:

• While general leadership attributes are transferable, nurse disciplinary leads require specialized HE sector knowledge.
• Mentorship significantly enhances the development of academic nurse leadership skills.
• Further research is essential to foster future nurse leaders and address barriers in Australian and New Zealand HE nursing careers.